Dogs were a problem sometimes. The Pauma Mission Indian Reservation borders one side of the property, and sometimes their dogs pack up at night; and they, unlike coyotes, will attack a vulnerable cow, one giving birth.
July 25, 1996
Thursday, July 25
One of the last dairy farms in Southern California
The problem is not mouse but mice
I am teaching at a private school. Like many such, it has taken over a large country estate — both grounds and house. Although there is a separate classroom building, dining room, and several dormitories, …
July 25, 1996
Tallest in San Diego County: Encina Power Plant chimney, Hyatt Regency, Symphony Towers, One American Plaza
Dear M. A.: I believe I read in your column that the chimney for the Encina power plant was the tallest man-made structure in San Diego County. I am fully aware of your abhorration to …
July 25, 1996
To donate blood you need large vessel close to the surface
Dear Matthew Alice: Help me! I want to be a blood donor, but the past two times I've tried, they could get only half a bagful out of me. When I was in the service, …
July 25, 1996
Just plain mucus
To: Matmail: What is the medical name for the nose substance called boogers? Inquiring parents need to know for pedagogical purposes. — Peter Brueggeman, Linda Vista Raising an anatomically correct child? No cutesy names for …
July 25, 1996
The amazing ability of a bellybutton to collect lint
Dear Matthew Alice: My friend Shmed has one incredible navel. I discovered that his belly has the ability to not only collect abnormally large clumps of lint but also has enough savvy to process this …
July 25, 1996
Tijuana's mariachis - romantic troubadors at Plaza Santa Cecelia
Jessie has a smile that doesn’t agree with his fierce black eyes. Take care,” says Oscar. “This area is dangerous.” He leans over the bar, brings his face close to mine. “The police have no …
July 25, 1996
James Lee Burke's Cadillac Jukebox
“I was in Mississippi a number of years ago when an infamous former Klansman was arrested for a murder that took place in the 1960s. I was bothered at the time by the unanswered question….”
July 25, 1996
Thursday, July 18
Angel's Camp: how Americans settle into a life in Baja
You won't find them on a topological map, but these American settlements dot the coasts of Baja, from San Felipe down to Santiago, around the bend and back up to Ensenada. Their names bring to …
July 18, 1996
Vegemite’s still the same as it was in 1908
Dear Matt: My husband and I were listening to old Men at Work tapes. What exactly is Vegemite? Have you ever tasted it? I heard it's disgusting. — Kittybyte, the Net Matthew Alice: I can …
July 18, 1996
Thursday, July 11
San Diego men who hit their wives
“I’D JUST HAD SURGERY ON MY EAR. anesthetic had worn off, and the pain It was for ‘diver’s ear’ or ‘surfer’s ear,’ pills didn’t help. Ellen kept going on where they have to grind calcium …
July 11, 1996
A fire escape, however, is no part of the house at all
My Lower East Side apartment is cramped, smelly, and airless. It radiates the aura of years of abuse suffered patiently, of rooms that have long since lost all hope. However, these do face out the …
July 11, 1996
San Diego woman follows illegal immigrant to his home town of Espinosillas
We keep a stereo viewer on the mantel, an antique pair of lenses set in wood so long ago that the velvet around the tin visor has worn away where it touches my temples. The …
July 11, 1996
San Diego number three in U.S. for left-handed
Dear Matthew Alice: I'm continually amazed at the phenomenal percentage of left-handed people there are in San Diego!! It’s almost like something from The Twilight Zone/ Can you tell me the actual percentage of left-handed …
July 11, 1996
Wednesday, July 3
Alexander Theroux's San Diego hamburger survey
Personally, I want a lunch-counter cheeseburger, good meat with fried onions, weighty, cooked flat, solid to the grip, with a dense, unaerated bun, sweet as a kiss and solid as a high school girls femur. …
July 3, 1996
The El Cortez Hotel and the champagne glass
Dear Mr. (Ms., Mrs.?) Alice: Okay smartypants. I’ve got one you'll never figure out. There is a champagne glass in downtown San Diego that is as tall as a building, but it’s not as visible …
July 3, 1996
Geoffrey Wolff on fatherhood and mortality
A few hours before dawn a bedside phone woke my wife and me. My older son Nicholas, nine, was at a lakeside summer camp in Vermont. This was many years ago, but the subsequent conversation …
July 3, 1996